


Mission: Quarantine

by Brumeier



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Quarantine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24737428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: Just another day in quarantine! Although John does even that his own way.
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Comments: 28
Kudos: 86





	Mission: Quarantine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [em-kellesvig (mischief5)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischief5/gifts).



John pulled the SUV into the driveway and turned off the engine. It had been a full shift and he was looking forward to getting out of his mission gear. Normally he’d have parked in the garage, but Rodney had converted it shortly after reports of the virus hit the news feed.

Standard protocol: Enter the garage through the side door, remove all his clothes and PPE, use the hand sanitizer, hop into what John called the ‘decontamination shower’, sanitize again, and then he was free to enter the house.

Rodney was waiting with a freshly opened beer and a kiss.

“How’d it go?”

“Good. I had to go to four different stores to get everything on the list, but I got it done.”

The beer was nice and cold and crisp, and John enjoyed the slide of it down his throat. Much of his day out had been standing in line, waiting for his turn to take a spin around the grocery store. He didn’t mention breaking up an altercation between an unmasked customer and a store employee; that kind of thing made Rodney nervous.

“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to spend a day at home,” Rodney grumbled. 

He was cooking dinner, or an approximation of it. John was all for supporting local restaurants, which were still offering take-out and delivery services, but Rodney was too nervous. He was religiously watching cooking shows and reading recipes, and treating the groceries with as much, if not more, care as John.

“What do we have today?” John asked, peering over Rodney’s shoulder to see what was happening on the stove.

“Beef stroganoff. Hopefully.” He didn’t sound very confident. “There’s pizza in the freezer if it doesn’t work out.”

“Or we could order from Mama Louisa’s,” John suggested. That earned him a glare.

“And how do I know they’re taking proper precautions? No.” 

It wasn’t an argument worth pursuing, so John didn’t bother. He dropped down on one of the stools at the kitchen island and pulled out his phone – also safely disinfected – to see what he had on tap for the next day’s mission.

There were quite a few elderly residents in the neighborhood, many of them afraid to venture out to the grocery store. John and a couple other able-bodied men and women had started shopping for them, as well as doing some yard work or helping with things like leaky faucets.

In addition, they were making rounds through the neighborhood, keeping an eye on things, checking in with local businesses, offering assistance where it was needed. Making sure no-one got any ideas about breaking in or looting. Not on John’s watch.

“We submitted the tracking software to the CDC today,” Rodney said. “The beta version should go up next week.”

“Cool.”

“Cool? That’s all you have to say?”

“Super cool?”

John wasn’t the only one staying busy during quarantine. Rodney and his lab partner, Radek, had been working together – remotely – to develop state-of-the-art virus tracking software. Their neighbor across the street, Harold, had been against the idea, worried the software could be used for other, less legitimate, purposes. He and Rodney had many lively debates about it. But in the end, it was necessary if there was to be a chance of getting a handle on the virus.

Rodney slid a plate of noodles and meat in front of John and joined him at the island with a plate of his own.

“You have the vocabulary of a five-year-old.”

John took a tentative bite of the stroganoff, pleased to find it tasted good. Not all of Rodney’s cooking experiments turned out as well.

“You’re getting better,” he said. “This is really good.”

Rodney looked mollified and started eating as well. John wondered what his next project would be, now that the tracking software was ready to go. He knew better than anyone that Rodney’s genius brain needed to be kept occupied, and cooking wasn’t going to be enough.

John wondered if he could talk Rodney into building him a Ferris wheel in the backyard. Phineas and Ferb constructed a roller coaster in a single afternoon, though Rodney got twitchy when John talked about cartoons like they were real life. Or compared him to Dr. Doofenshmirtz. 

“You’re taking the weekend off, right?” Rodney asked. “I thought maybe we’d go hiking.”

John reached over and put the back of his hand on Rodney’s forehead. “You have a fever?”

Rodney swatted his hand away. “Don’t be stupid. I just thought it might be nice to get outside for a while. You know. Fresh air.”

If that wasn’t a cry for help, nothing was. Clearly Rodney, the same man who could willingly spend days at a stretch tucked away in his lab, was going stir crazy.

“Sounds good,” John said. “I wouldn’t mind a little exercise.”

He’d make sure it wasn’t too taxing. Maybe pack a picnic lunch. They hadn’t been getting on each other’s nerves – much – during quarantine and taking a day out of the house would be a good way to keep that going.

“I’ll wash up,” John said when they finished eating. “You go pick something to watch.”

“Anything in particular?”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s just an excuse to grope you in the dark.” John waggled his eyebrows and finally got a proper grin out of Rodney.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Just doing my part to get through this thing together,” John said. 

Rodney snorted. “Very heroic.” He leaned over and gave John a kiss. “I’ll wait for you in the living room.”

John couldn’t wait for quarantine to be over. His hands were chapped from the sanitizer, he was tired of having to breathe through a mask, and he desperately wanted to go out for dinner. He’d miss spending so much time with Rodney, though. That was the only good part of the whole mess.

He washed up the dishes, cleaned the counters, and shut the lights off as he left the kitchen.

“Here’s Johnny!” he called out.

“Don’t make me divorce you!” Rodney called back.

It was going to be a good night.

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** This idea popped up for me after reading em_kellesvig’s entry for June Something, day two – when she picked two fandom characters to be quarantined with, one was John Sheppard and she said he wouldn’t really be quarantined because he’d be out helping his neighbors and his community. Just like JFlan himself. So thank you for the inspiration, friend!


End file.
